June 8, 2009.

Today's a day filled with incredible anticipation for Apple fans. The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference opens with a keynote by Apple Senior VP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller, who is widely expected to announce the availability of the 3rd generation of iPhone firmware and hardware, provide a release date for Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6), and hopefully throw in a few surprises in the meantime.

While TUAW has no "assets on the ground" inside the keynote (Brett Terpstra will be outside for developer interviews immediately afterward), our team is preparing for full meta-liveblogging of the event. Join us for this event beginning at about 10 AM Pacific Time / 1 PM Eastern Time / 5 PM GMT as TUAW bloggers Steve Sande, Megan Lavey, and Erica Sadun provide you with nonstop coverage of the keynote. You can also follow our event-specific Twitter feed for updates throughout the week at http://twitter.com/tuaw_wwdc.

Welcome to the TUAW liveblog of the Macworld Expo 2009 keynote address. The keynote has ended; to read the full report click 'read more.' Quick summary: iLife 09, iWork 09, 17" MBP, and iTunes (Plus for all, tiered pricing, and buy songs over 3G). We're keeping on covering every bit of Macworld via our front page and show-specific page, so stay with TUAW.

Take a stroll on over to Apple's downloads page and peek at the 5th entry under Top Downloads. What you will find is an entry for iWork '09 -- which has yet to be announced.

We currently don't have any information available as to what changes would be present if iWork or iLife were updated. However, you can bet that if the Philnote features any dazzling effects not previously seen, they are likely a part of the updated suite.

Given that Apple is so secretive this seems like quite the slip up. While not featured in our rumor roundup, we would not be at all surprised for an update to both the iWork and iLife suites to be announced. If you have any hot features you'd love to see in an updated iWork or iLife suite throw them down in the comments.

Thanks Nick for sending this in!

Everyone in the Apple community is eager to see Phil Schiller deliver tomorrow's keynote address at Macworld Expo. While we're uncertain as to what he'll do, we know that he won't be leaping onto an inflatable mattress while holding a laptop. Because he's already done that.

At Macworld Expo '99 in New York City, Phil demonstrated a Tangerine iBook's wifi capabilities and accelerometer by falling from a significant height onto a small mattress below, thus ushering him into "The Demo Hall of Fame." It might not have been the Mother of All Demos, but still pretty cool. Way to take one for the team, Phil!

Click below to watch the video.

[Thanks to the folks at thinkingbricks for pointing this out]

Our favorite-named analyst, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, predicts that Apple will announce new Mac models at Macworld Expo, and a smaller iPhone for the March quarter.

Piper Jaffray expects that Apple will sell 45 million iPhones during 2009, though that estimate is predicated on the fact that Apple will release a lower-cost iPhone model early in the year, priced between $99 and $149.

As for Macworld Expo, the expectation is that there won't be any groundbreaking announcements, since Phil Schiller will be giving the presentation. They do expect new iMac or Mac mini models, however.

Piper Jaffray is maintaining its "buy" rating, and $235 price target, on shares of AAPL. The stock was up slightly during morning trading.

[Via StreetInsider.]

Late yesterday, Apple surprised pundits, fans and presumably IDG by announcing that Macworld Expo 2009 would be their last as an official exhibitor. Along with that news came the announcement that Phil Schiller will deliver the keynote address in place of Steve Jobs. People will speculate about the reasons for Apple's move for some time. Here are my thoughts.

There must be a financial component. Sure, Apple announced $25 billion in cash reserves and no debt at the end of Q4 in October, but it's very expensive to attend these events, even for Apple. Consider the extent of Apple's presence at Macworld Expo, between machines, people, displays, etc. Even software giant Adobe has dropped out.

Of course, it goes beyond the cost of the show. Nearly every year, Apple's stock dips after the keynote presentation when rumored products or services aren't introduced. It's a silly, unfortunate and routine drop... which brings me to point number two.

The rumors themselves. The current iPod nano model was all but revealed prematurely when photos of a case produced by a 3rd party manufacturer appeared online. When Steve Jobs mentioned it at the official press event a few days later, some attendees laughed. Steve responded by saying, "It's not funny" in a stern tone of voice. He was clearly pissed.

That wasn't the first time Apple had been scooped by the media. In 2002, the Canadian edition of Time Magazine leaked a cover photo of Steve and Jon Ive with the G4 iMac just prior to its introduction at Macworld Expo. You'll also remember that Apple aggressively pursued rumor site Thinksecret last year, and it's currently offline. Not only do rumors hurt the company financially, they take some of the excitement out of product updates, and in turn, the media's enthusiasm. When the media basically knows what's coming, their interest wanes just enough. Apple wants more control.

Control over product schedules outside the constraints of Expo keynotes. Once Apple steps away from the tick-tock of January showcases, it will be able to stage a press event and introduce a product or service when it's actually ready, not when a certain calendar date arrives.

Finally, I've always found the timing to be odd. The first week of January is right after all the major winter holidays. People are tapped out financially and enjoying the loot they picked up the in weeks before from family and friends. Asking them to spend another grand on a computer just then isn't ideal. Alternatively, Apple has consistently released iPod updates in September, just as kids are going back to school.

The inevitable question is one of Steve's health, but I think John Gruber got this one right. If Steve was ill, they'd send in a proxy like Phil but keep the rest of the game intact. The fact that they've abandoned the whole thing says to me that it's a political and financial move more than anything else.

Time Magazine asks the health question right away in their reaction article, quoting an Apple spokesperson as saying, "Phil is giving the keynote because this is Apple's last year in the show, and it doesn't make sense for us to make a major investment in a trade show we will no longer be attending." Even if Steve is as healthy as a horse but still looks thin, his appearance could have an affect on the company's stock. I don't think I've ever seen a company whose financial well being is so closely tied to the health of its CEO.

For now, at least, IDG plans to put on Macworld Expo 2010, with or without Apple. I say more power to them, but as a person who attended two Macworld Expos in Boston without Apple, my faith is waning.

It is a bit sad that Steve won't wrap up the final Macworld Expo; we can hope that he'll make a special appearance as Phil Schiller's One More Thing.

In a surprise announcement, Apple said that next month's Macworld Expo will be its last. The company doesn't plan on exhibiting at the event after 2009.

Also, Steve Jobs will not be giving the keynote address, handing that honor to Phil Schiller, senior VP of worldwide product marketing. It will be Apple's final keynote address at the event.

In a press release, Apple said it has scaled back its presence at other trade shows, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo, and Apple Expo in Paris.

This will be the 25th Macworld Expo. Steve Jobs had given the keynote address since 1997, when he returned to the company as interim CEO.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Most of the videos I have seen of the iPhone don't show it in action, but this video really gives you an idea of how you interact with this little device. Phil Schiller, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing, pulls out all the stops for CBS News and runs the iPhone through its paces.

Say what you will about the iPhone, but as I watched Phil navigate through its interface I couldn't help but think it was all special effects. Good special effects at that.

Oh, and you eagle eyed readers out there might recognize a large man wearing a red shirt in the back ground during the opening of this piece (hint, it's me).

[via the Mac DevCenter]